Bus tickets on your mobile
Fornebu
10 minute read
(Telenor, 2 Feb 2009) Within a few years you will be able to use your mobile phone as a means of payment on buses, trams and trains. Then you can leave your bank card and cash at home when using public transport.
In the Norwegian city of Tromsoe Telenor Research & Innovation and the local bus company Cominor AS have successfully carried out a test using the mobile phone as a means of payment on the city buses. The user response is very positive: "We carry the mobile with us anyway while bus cards and cash are often left at home. We also appreciated the way the mobile displayed how many travels were left - before entering the bus.
The Cominor solution makes use of the ticketing system whereby electronic smartcards keep track of the travellers' prepaid travels. Upon entering the bus the user moves the card or the mobile phone near a reader which scans the card. That way one prepaid travel is withdrawn from the smartcard in the mobile phone. The journey is thereby confirmed and the user may enter the bus.
In the mobile telephones of the future the punch card will be stored in the phone or in the SIM card. Just like the smartcard, the telephone will be equipped with a radio transmitter and receiver. This technology is called NFC - Near Field Communication, co-invented by NXP Semiconductors, which is also the leading vendor of NFC chips. NFC facilitates short-range communication over a distance of just a few centimeters between electronic devices via a quick and easy contactless connection.
Cominor's ticketing smartcard is based on MIFARE DESFire, which is a high security contactless card technology from NXP. MIFARE DESFire technology will be integrated into the hardware of future NFC phones and contactless SIMs.
Since such hardware is not yet available today, Telenor has developed a software implementation of MIFARE DESFire technology. Telenor has obtained from NXP a specific evaluation license to use this software implementation in the context of the trial.
The NFC telephones may be used along the same lines as ordinary smartcards on Cominor's buses because the bus card is integrated in the phone. In addition, travellers can check the status of the integrated bus card with a single keystroke on their phones. They can also read the mobile display and see when their ticket was activated and in that way calculate the last possibility for a transfer ticket.
In the autumn 2008 about 30 pilot users were each given a mobile phone prepared for use. The pilot project lasted four weeks and worked almost without a hitch.
"We wanted first of all to find out whether people would like to use their mobile phones in this way and what it would take to get an even better solution", says research scientist Erlend Pedersen, project manager for the development work in Telenor. "In a possible continuation of this work the mobile phone may be used to prepay the users' travel products. Then we will have a set-up whereby cash payment on buses is history. The NFC telephones may also be used to download timetable information and other useful information for the traveller", says Pedersen.
"A new way of paying for travel products is much appreciated by Cominor", says Thor-Harald Lauritsen, responsible for ticketing systems and project manager for the pilot in Cominor. "We want to give our customers a faster service and a more flexible change-over between various means of transportation. It is of course important for us that the cash flow is reduced and that our customers see travelling by bus as a simple and flexible means of transportation."
Lars Ingvard Hoff, leader of the FutureSIM initiative in Telenor Research & Innovation, strongly believes that much of what we carry around in our wallets will be included in the SIM card. "As well as tickets, you may for instance have bank cards, keys and much else in your mobile phone. Our project with Cominor is a step towards this vision. It proves that through co-operation with companies in other business sectors we can take part in bringing new, innovative services to our customers", he states.
"The MIFARE family of products is today the leading technology for contactless smart card ticketing in mass transit and one of the key drivers for the worldwide adoption of the Near Field Communication ", says Peter Helderman, European Business Development NFC Services, NXP Semiconductors. "NXP is pleased with Telenor's efforts to provide a software implementation of MIFARE DESFire technology, thus bridging the gap until this technology will become integrated in the standard hardware of NFC handsets and contactless SIMs.
In Telenor:
Knut Sollid, Head of Information, tel. +47 91598288, knut.sollid@telenor.com
Erlend Pedersen, Research Scientist, tel. +47 97084792, erlend.pedersen2@telenor.com
In Cominor AS:
Thor-Harald Lauritsen, responsible for ticketing systems in Cominor division Tromsø, tel. +47 47259467, thor-harald.lauritsen@cominor.no
Alfred Aksnes, Director Cominor division Tromsø, tel. 982 40515, alfred.aksnes@cominor.no
In NXP Semiconductors:
Alexander Tarzi, Communication Manager, Business Line Identification, tel. +43 1 60870 1649, alexander.tarzi@nxp.com
Peter Helderman, European Business Development Manager for NFC Services,
tel. + 33 6 2356 5148, peter.helderman@nxp.com
Cominor AS has about 500 employees and 300 buses as far north as Alta and as far south as Bodø. Their main office is at Finnsnes with operations units in Tromsø and Narvik. The pilot using mobile phones has been carried out in Tromsø where Cominor in November this year transported an average of 30,000 passengers per working day. About 73 % of them paid their bus journey with the smartcard "Tromskortet" ("The Troms card").
NXP is a leading semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has about 33,500 employees working in more than 20 countries and posted sales of USD 6.3 billion (including the Mobile & Personal business) in 2007. NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, mobile phones, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP is located at www.nxp.com.
The Cominor solution makes use of the ticketing system whereby electronic smartcards keep track of the travellers' prepaid travels. Upon entering the bus the user moves the card or the mobile phone near a reader which scans the card. That way one prepaid travel is withdrawn from the smartcard in the mobile phone. The journey is thereby confirmed and the user may enter the bus.
Punch card in the phone
In the mobile telephones of the future the punch card will be stored in the phone or in the SIM card. Just like the smartcard, the telephone will be equipped with a radio transmitter and receiver. This technology is called NFC - Near Field Communication, co-invented by NXP Semiconductors, which is also the leading vendor of NFC chips. NFC facilitates short-range communication over a distance of just a few centimeters between electronic devices via a quick and easy contactless connection.
Cominor's ticketing smartcard is based on MIFARE DESFire, which is a high security contactless card technology from NXP. MIFARE DESFire technology will be integrated into the hardware of future NFC phones and contactless SIMs.
Since such hardware is not yet available today, Telenor has developed a software implementation of MIFARE DESFire technology. Telenor has obtained from NXP a specific evaluation license to use this software implementation in the context of the trial.
The NFC telephones may be used along the same lines as ordinary smartcards on Cominor's buses because the bus card is integrated in the phone. In addition, travellers can check the status of the integrated bus card with a single keystroke on their phones. They can also read the mobile display and see when their ticket was activated and in that way calculate the last possibility for a transfer ticket.
Satisfied pilot users
In the autumn 2008 about 30 pilot users were each given a mobile phone prepared for use. The pilot project lasted four weeks and worked almost without a hitch.
"We wanted first of all to find out whether people would like to use their mobile phones in this way and what it would take to get an even better solution", says research scientist Erlend Pedersen, project manager for the development work in Telenor. "In a possible continuation of this work the mobile phone may be used to prepay the users' travel products. Then we will have a set-up whereby cash payment on buses is history. The NFC telephones may also be used to download timetable information and other useful information for the traveller", says Pedersen.
"A new way of paying for travel products is much appreciated by Cominor", says Thor-Harald Lauritsen, responsible for ticketing systems and project manager for the pilot in Cominor. "We want to give our customers a faster service and a more flexible change-over between various means of transportation. It is of course important for us that the cash flow is reduced and that our customers see travelling by bus as a simple and flexible means of transportation."
New and innovative services
Lars Ingvard Hoff, leader of the FutureSIM initiative in Telenor Research & Innovation, strongly believes that much of what we carry around in our wallets will be included in the SIM card. "As well as tickets, you may for instance have bank cards, keys and much else in your mobile phone. Our project with Cominor is a step towards this vision. It proves that through co-operation with companies in other business sectors we can take part in bringing new, innovative services to our customers", he states.
"The MIFARE family of products is today the leading technology for contactless smart card ticketing in mass transit and one of the key drivers for the worldwide adoption of the Near Field Communication ", says Peter Helderman, European Business Development NFC Services, NXP Semiconductors. "NXP is pleased with Telenor's efforts to provide a software implementation of MIFARE DESFire technology, thus bridging the gap until this technology will become integrated in the standard hardware of NFC handsets and contactless SIMs.
For more information, please contact:
In Telenor:
Knut Sollid, Head of Information, tel. +47 91598288, knut.sollid@telenor.com
Erlend Pedersen, Research Scientist, tel. +47 97084792, erlend.pedersen2@telenor.com
In Cominor AS:
Thor-Harald Lauritsen, responsible for ticketing systems in Cominor division Tromsø, tel. +47 47259467, thor-harald.lauritsen@cominor.no
Alfred Aksnes, Director Cominor division Tromsø, tel. 982 40515, alfred.aksnes@cominor.no
In NXP Semiconductors:
Alexander Tarzi, Communication Manager, Business Line Identification, tel. +43 1 60870 1649, alexander.tarzi@nxp.com
Peter Helderman, European Business Development Manager for NFC Services,
tel. + 33 6 2356 5148, peter.helderman@nxp.com
About Cominor AS:
Cominor AS has about 500 employees and 300 buses as far north as Alta and as far south as Bodø. Their main office is at Finnsnes with operations units in Tromsø and Narvik. The pilot using mobile phones has been carried out in Tromsø where Cominor in November this year transported an average of 30,000 passengers per working day. About 73 % of them paid their bus journey with the smartcard "Tromskortet" ("The Troms card").
About NXP Semiconductors:
NXP is a leading semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has about 33,500 employees working in more than 20 countries and posted sales of USD 6.3 billion (including the Mobile & Personal business) in 2007. NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, mobile phones, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP is located at www.nxp.com.